Helen's Big World

The Life of Helen Keller

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Disney Hyperion Books

(pub. 10.16.12)  48 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Doreen Rappaport

     and Illustrator:  Matt Tavares

C haracter: Helen Keller

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "Blind, deaf, and unable to speak from toddlerhood, young Helen Keller lived in a dark, silent world. Despite her handicaps, Helen wanted to experience every part of life; with her passion for discovery and the help of an unrivaled teacher, Annie Sullivan, Helen found that knowledge would soon lead to freedom... And with knowledge and freedom came wisdom... And with her wisdom, Helen knew that she could change the world by speaking out against the injustices she witnessed...
       With her signature style of prose laced with stirring quotes, Doreen Rappaport brings to life Helen Keller's poignant narrative. Acclaimed illustrator Matt Tavares captures the dynamism and verve of Helen Keller's life and legacy, making Helen's Big World an unforgettable portrait of a woman whose vision for progress changed America - and the world - forever."

        

T antalizing taste: 

           "But some people questioned how Helen could describe things that she could not see or hear. They did not understand that she could smell lilacs and roses and feel the golden rays of the sun on her face and the soft, springy earth under her feet."

          

and something more:  In the Illustrator's Note, Matt Tavares explains the challenges of illustrating Helen's Big World: "[At first] I was overwhelmed by the challenge of trying to visually capture the story of a person who could not see or hear. It seemed impossible... I realized that maybe I was thinking about Helen Keller the wrong way. I was defining her by her deafness and blindness, but there was so much more to her story. Helen Keller never saw the ocean or heard the sound of crashing waves. But she could feel the exhilaration of jumping in the water. She could ride in a sailboat, and feel the fluttering in her stomach as the sea rose and fell. She could taste the salty ocean spray, and feel the cold water as it splashed on her face. I ... tried to make sure my pictures focused on all the things she could do ..." 
            Two of Matt Tavare's illustrations (one of which is the cover) echo Doreen Rappaport's text by showing Helen Keller, in profile as a young woman and then as an older woman, reveling in the smell of a rose "and feel [of] the golden rays of the sun on her face."  

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Imogen

The Mother of Modernism
and Three Boys

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Cameron + Company

(pub. 12.11.12) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Amy Novesky
       Illustrator: Lisa Congdon

C haracter: Imogen Cunningham

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "Flash forward. Imogen is a photographer and a mother. She has her hands full! How does she do it all?  She turns the garden into a wonderland for her three growing boys and a workshop for herself. While she works, her boys play, and Imogen photographs them. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. Photographing her sons leads Imogen to focus on the plants and flowers - most notably her signature magnolia blossoms - for which she will become known."

        

T antalizing taste: 

       "CLICK. Freckled ears and feathered headdresses.
       Glowing birthday cakes. Her three growing boys.
       She photographed her bespectacled father. Her
mother with a crown of silver spoons.
       Imogen found a little beauty in everything."

          

and something more: Last Monday, November 12th, was Imogen Cunningham Day in San Francisco. I was thrilled to attend the book launch party that day for IMOGEN -The Mother of Modernism and Three Boys at a wonderful indie bookstore, Books Inc., in San Francisco.  My writer friend, Amy Novesky, gave a wonderful presentation and shared intriguing anecdotes about Imogen, including meeting one of Imogen's sons, now in his 90s, who also became a photographer. And even the publisher told about a personal connection to Imogen. The founder, Robert Cameron (photographer and publisher of the ABOVE books), actually owned an Imogen photograph.
          My favorite page of the book reads: "And for one hour every afternoon, while the boys napped, Imogen focused on her flowers, including a common magnolia blossom she shot close up." The lovely close-up illustration of Imogen with her camera focused on a blossom echoes the lyrical text.
          The Author's Note includes an inspiring quote from Imogen:

"You can't expect things to be smooth and easy and beautiful. You just have to work, find your way out, and do anything you can yourself."

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Touch the Sky

Alice Coachman, Olympic High Jumper

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The Flatt Perspective

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Albert Whitman & Company

(pub. 12.1.2011) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Ann Malaspina

     and Illustrator:  Eric Velasquez

C haracter: Alice Coachman

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "In Alice Coachman's Georgia hometown, there was no field where an African-American girl could do the high jump, so she made her own crossbar with sticks and rags. After seeing her jump at a meet, Coach Cleve Abbott asked Alice to join the Tuskegee Institute's famous Golden Tigerettes. Soon she was winning many medals. But Alice still had a big dream - to compete at the Olympics. No African-American woman had ever won an Olympic Gold.
       At the London Olympics in 1948, Alice was ready to make history.
        Ann Malaspina's lyrical free-verse biography will inspire young readers. Eric Velasquez's stunning paintings bring this remarkable athlete to life."

        

T antalizing taste: 

           "One day a man came by
             to collect the rent. 
             He saw Alice, 
             bare feet flying
             long legs spinning, 
             braids flapping,
             in the yard.
             'Evelyn, that gal's gonna
             jump over the moon
             one of these days,'
             he said to Momma.

             The moon was so far
             from Albany, where
             Momma saved pennies
             because there weren't 
             ever enough.
             But a dream
             is a beginning,
             and as Alice grew older,
             her dream was to soar."
          

and something more: Ann Malaspina's Author's Note in Touch the Sky explains that Alice Coachman became a "celebrity back home. When Alice's train pulled into Atlanta, Georgia, [she] rode in a motorcade across the state to Albany... Crowds lined the road to catch a glimpse of Georgia's Olympic champion... Fancy floats lined up to greet her in Albany. The parade ended at the Albany municipal Auditorium where a grand ceremony had been arranged. Never before had Albany honored one of its black citizens, but some things hadn't changed. Alice saw the audience was divided by race - blacks sitting on one side, white on the other. She wasn't invited to speak. Still, as an Olympic champion, Alice always held her head high."
          About 50 years later, she was elected to the United States Olympic Hall of Fame, and named one of the one hundred best athletes in Olympic history. "Her dream was to soar," and she did!
           I was interested to learn that Ann's dedication is not only to her parents, Alice Coachman and her son, Richmond Davis, but also "to the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for a generous research grant for this book." Bravo to SCBWI -- my favorite writers' organization!

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Noah Webster & His Words

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Houghton Mifflin Books For Children

(pub.10.23.2012) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Jeri Chase Ferris

     and Illustrator:  Vincent X. Kirsh

C haracter: Noah Webster

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "From the beginning, Noah Webster knew he didn't want to be a farmer like the rest of his family. He wanted to be a SCHOL-AR [noun: one who goes to school; a person who knows a lot]. And that is just what Noah did - he studied words all his life. Then, in a PIV-O-TAL [adj.: vitally important] time in American history during the Revolutionary War, Noah himself became a REV-O-LU-TION-AR-Y... by creating something completely new: Webster's American Dictionary of the English Language... This book ... CEL-E-BRATES [verb: to honor] just how it all happened."

        

T antalizing taste: 

   "Noah Webster always knew he was right, and he never got tired of saying so (even if, sometimes, he wasn't). He was, he said, 'full of CON-FI-DENCE' [noun: belief that one is right] from the very beginning." 

     

and something more: One of the assignments I gave to my 7th grade Language Arts students required using the hardcover classroom dictionaries, instead of an internet dictionary. After a lot of grumbling, the students actually found that they enjoyed finding the word and then looking at the others listed nearby (which is something the computer dictionary doesn't offer). Personally, I fondly remember perusing our family's gigantic dictionary which was too heavy for me to carry. 

The "More About Noah Webster" section at the back of the book states that Noah Webster "cared deeply about his children, and about the future of all the children in the new United Sates of America. 'The first job of government is the education of its children,' he wrote. And that's what Noah's words were meant to do."

I recently met Jeri Chase Ferris, the author of Noah Webster & His Words, at a wonderful SCBWI conference at Oakland's Preservation Park. Congrats Jeri on your new book!

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